STOCKHOLM: The Swedish government said on Monday (November 4) that it was blocking the construction of 13 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea after the country’s military said it could negatively impact its defense capabilities.

Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari told a press conference that construction permits for planned wind farms were rejected on the grounds that “they would have an unacceptable impact on defense interests”.

All 13 projects were planned in regions along Sweden’s Baltic Sea coast.

The decision follows a study by the Swedish Armed Forces published last week by public broadcaster SVT, which showed that the projects could significantly disrupt sensors used by the military.

The towers and rotating blades of wind turbines emit radar echoes and produce other types of interference.

“In this serious security situation that Sweden is currently in, defense interests need to carry greater weight,” Defense Minister Pal Jonson told reporters.

Offshore wind farms could jam military radars and delay detection of incoming cruise missiles, reducing warning time from two minutes to 60 seconds, Jonson said.

The minister added that the relative proximity of the “highly militarized” Russian exclave of Kaliningrad was “central to the assessment”.

Tensions increased in the region after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

NATO recently opened a new naval base in Rostock, Germany, to coordinate the forces of military alliance members in the region.

At the same time, energy needs, especially from renewable sources, are at the top of the agenda.

Electricity demand in Sweden could more than double by 2045, according to a government memo seen by AFP.